| Organization | Project Title & Summary | Total Funding |
|---|---|---|
Gateway to Prevention and Recovery |
Vaping Prevention & Cessation in Pottawatomie, Lincoln, and Seminole Counties: Tobacco, vaping prevention and cessation program to be embedded in local school districts. |
$748,311 |
Lighthouse Behavioral Wellness Centers, Inc. |
Expanding Tobacco Cessation Services for High-Risk Southcentral Oklahomans: Comprehensive tobacco cessation services to include wellness coaching, peer support groups, counseling and medication support for Lighthouse clients and community employees with high tobacco usage rates in Southcentral Oklahoma. |
$750,000 |
Oklahoma Arts Council |
Creative Aging Across Oklahoma: Leveraging the Arts to Support Healthy Aging: Expands Oklahoma Arts Council’s Creative Aging Action grant to support creative aging programs across the state and raise awareness of program benefits. |
$750,000 |
Oklahoma Breastfeeding Resource Center |
Eliminating Rural First Food Deserts through Increased Access to Breastfeeding Support: Increase number of Baby-Friendly hospitals in rural Oklahoma from 10 to 20 by expanding to increase breastfeeding rates and reduce maternal and infant/child obesity rates. |
$749,997 |
Oklahoma State University |
OSU Student Farm: The OSU Student Farm seeks to grow and increase access to fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables through regional and local food banks and pantries in Oklahoma. |
$750,000 |
Oklahoma State University |
United Against Tobacco: The United We Can (UWC) program for middle schools within Tulsa Public Schools seeks to increase health, academic performance and enrollment in higher education. The program seeks to reduce alcohol, tobacco and other drug use in adolescents by enhancing family involvement, goal setting and positive peer influences. |
$750,000 |
Youth and Family Resource Center, Inc. |
Partners in Caring: Provides CDC's Whole School, Whole Child, Whole Community (WSCC) to underserved rural Oklahomans in Lincoln County. Partners in Caring provide on-site healthcare and social service providers for preventive care, mental health care, case management and after-school programming. |
$748,416 |
Total |
$5,246,724 |
TSET Board of Directors Awards Seven Discovery Grants to Improve Health
The awards totaling $5.2 million over three years will begin July 2024
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 28, 2024) – The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) Board of Directors on Thursday awarded seven TSET Discovery grants to support innovative efforts to transform and improve health throughout Oklahoma.
Funded programs will include vaping prevention and cessation in schools in Pottawatomie, Lincoln and Seminole counties, supporting Oklahoma State University Student Farm production of more locally grown food for food banks and pantries, and increasing the number of hospitals participating in a program to raise breastfeeding rates in rural Oklahoma and reduce obesity rates among mothers and infants.
TSET Discovery grant funding will cover three years beginning July 1, 2024. The TSET Board of Directors has allocated up to $5.2 million over three years to this funding category.
“TSET is committed to improving the health and longevity of Oklahomans by reducing tobacco use and vaping and increasing access to healthy foods and physical activity,” said TSET Board Chair Marshall Snipes. “We are pleased to fund innovative programs to improve health in our state and learn more about ideas and initiations across the state.”
The board awarded TSET Discovery grants to Gateway to Prevention and Recovery, Lighthouse Behavioral Wellness Center, Inc., the Oklahoma Arts Council, Oklahoma Breastfeeding Resource Center, Oklahoma State University and Youth and Family Resource Center.
“We were pleased we had participation from so many applicants and the pool of proposals was strong,” said TSET Executive Director Julie Bisbee. “The scope of awarded projects seeks to increase wellness for people from infancy, youth and seniors and will help pilot and advance new ideas.”
OSU was awarded two Discovery grants, one for the student farm and another to fund a wellness program for Tulsa middle schools.
Summaries of all funded programs and their total 3-year funding amounts:
To learn more about Discovery and other TSET grant opportunities, visit https://oklahoma.gov/tset/funding-opportunities.html.
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The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, cultivating innovative and life-changing research and working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. To learn more, go to Oklahoma.gov/TSET.